Microsoft to drop retail version of Windows 8, offer OEM and Upgrade only? (rumor)

WinBeta is one of the original beta-centered communities founded in 1998. WinBeta is centered on Windows Beta news but is also Technology focused.

Dont lurk! There are tons of great reasons to register on WinBeta including the ability to enter giveaways and remove some advertisements. Its free and easy!

Home › Microsoft to drop retail version of Windows 8, offer OEM and Upgrade only? (rumor)

by Ron on July 13, 2012 - 07:31am

A new report suggests that Microsoft is planning on dropping retail boxes of Windows 8 in favor of just an Upgrade package and OEM package. This new rumor comes along with another rumor that Windows 8 is expected to be officially released on October 28th.

According to the report, Microsoft will offer the Windows 8 Upgrade package for $39.99 and the Windows 8 System Builder Kit (OEM), which consumers can purchase online. Microsoft has already made it a point to emphasis the Windows 8 Upgrade special for just $39.99. Is this just a big rumor or is it practical? We will have to wait and see. Microsoft has already detailed its Upgrade plans for Windows XP, Vista, and 7.

A recent report suggests that Microsoft will make available Windows 8 to the general public on Sunday the 28th of October. This report is based on an anonymous source who works at an OEM. Regardless if this is true or not, Microsoft is expected to release Windows 8 at the end of October.

1998 to 2012 © WinBeta

Beta Centered, Technology and Microsoft news Focused. All news images and trademarks displayed are property of their respective owners.

View the original article here

Microsoft details File History feature in Windows 8, continuously protects personal files

WinBeta is one of the original beta-centered communities founded in 1998. WinBeta is centered on Windows Beta news but is also Technology focused.

Dont lurk! There are tons of great reasons to register on WinBeta including the ability to enter giveaways and remove some advertisements. Its free and easy!

Home › Microsoft details File History feature in Windows 8, continuously protects personal files

by Ron on July 10, 2012 - 08:27am

In a new Building Windows 8 blog post, Microsoft details the new File History feature in Windows 8. This new feature is more powerful that Windows Backup and Restore (found in Windows 7) and offers a cool new way to continuously protect personal files.

Microsoft understands that using a backup tool is not really all that popular. In fact, less than 5% of consumer PCs use Windows Backup. Even if statistics tally up third party backup tool use, less than 50% of computers are backed up. Microsoft hopes to change this with the new File History feature in Windows 8.

"File History only saves copies of files that are in your libraries, contacts, favorites, and on your desktop. If you have folders elsewhere that you want backed up, you can add them to one of your existing libraries or create a new library," Microsoft explains.
Simply open File History from the Control Panel, and then click On. Microsoft recommends the use of an external drive for File History backup.

Restoring a file is very easy as well. "With File History, the search starts right in Windows Explorer. You can browse to a specific location and click or tap on the History button in the explorer ribbon in order to see all versions of the selected library, folder or an individual file," Microsoft explains.

File History will run once an hour and runs silently in the background. It also requires minimal setup. As far as cloud storage goes, File History is designed specifically for consumers and does not support cloud storage in this release. "File History silently protects all of your important files stored in Libraries, Desktop, Favorites and Contacts. Once turned on, it requires no effort at all to protect your data. When you lose a file or just need to find an original version of a picture or a specific version of a resume, all versions of your files are available. With the File History restore application you can find it quickly and effortlessly," Microsoft adds. Take a look at the demo video below:

1998 to 2012 © WinBeta

Beta Centered, Technology and Microsoft news Focused. All news images and trademarks displayed are property of their respective owners.

View the original article here

Microsoft hopes to sell 'a few million' Windows 8 Surface tablets in 2013

WinBeta is one of the original beta-centered communities founded in 1998. WinBeta is centered on Windows Beta news but is also Technology focused.

Dont lurk! There are tons of great reasons to register on WinBeta including the ability to enter giveaways and remove some advertisements. Its free and easy!

Home › Microsoft hopes to sell 'a few million' Windows 8 Surface tablets in 2013

by Ron on July 09, 2012 - 04:04pm

During the Worldwide Partner Conference keynote, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer stated that the company was hoping to sell a "few million Surface PCs" in the coming year. Ballmer also believes that there will be 375 million Windows PCs sold in the next 12 months.

According to the report, Steve Ballmer believes that Microsoft will sell a few million Windows 8 Surface tablets in 2013. By stating this during a keynote, it clearly showcases how Microsoft is planning a big push for the Surface tablet. Ballmer also has high hopes for the Windows platform in terms of sales. "Ballmer also said that according to estimates, there will be 375 million Windows PCs sold in the next 12 months. His implication was there would still be lots of OEMs making Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows RT (Windows on ARM) machines, too," the report states. With Microsoft's recent purchase of large-screen multi-touch display vendor Perceptive Pixel, will we be seeing a large push towards this product and will Ballmer's estimates be right?

1998 to 2012 © WinBeta

Beta Centered, Technology and Microsoft news Focused. All news images and trademarks displayed are property of their respective owners.

View the original article here

Microsoft announces Windows 8 Pro upgrade price at $39.99 until January 31st 2013

WinBeta is one of the original beta-centered communities founded in 1998. WinBeta is centered on Windows Beta news but is also Technology focused.

Dont lurk! There are tons of great reasons to register on WinBeta including the ability to enter giveaways and remove some advertisements. Its free and easy!

Home › Microsoft announces Windows 8 Pro upgrade price at $39.99 until January 31st 2013

by Zac on July 02, 2012 - 11:11am

Users currently running Windows XP, Vista or 7 are in for a treat today. Microsoft have just announced the price of Windows 8 Pro upgrade from previous versions of Windows, for just $39.99 you can get the Metro experience on your hardware. This is a promotional offer that will last until 2013.

"... if your PC is running Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7 you will qualify to download an upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for just $39.99". Those wanting DVD media with their upgrade are expected to pay $69.99 instead.

Users will be able to upgrade using the new Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant, which makes the upgrade process as easy as anything you've ever done by walking you through each step to getting your system ready for Windows 8. The program will provide a detailed compatibility report, inform you on any driver or program issues, keep files and settings from current installations of Windows and more!

Those wanting DVD media with their upgrade are expected to pay $69.99 instead.

Now, this is an entirely different offer compared to the one where you can purchase a Windows 7 PC today and be able to get Windows 8 Pro for $14.99.

1998 to 2012 © WinBeta

Beta Centered, Technology and Microsoft news Focused. All news images and trademarks displayed are property of their respective owners.

View the original article here

Microsoft continues work on Windows 8, reaches build 8500 milestone

WinBeta is one of the original beta-centered communities founded in 1998. WinBeta is centered on Windows Beta news but is also Technology focused.

Dont lurk! There are tons of great reasons to register on WinBeta including the ability to enter giveaways and remove some advertisements. Its free and easy!

Home › Microsoft continues work on Windows 8, reaches build 8500 milestone

by Zac on June 30, 2012 - 06:24am

Recent rumours suggested that Windows 8 would reach a maximum of 8400 builds before it went RTM, that rumour has been squashed today as information from a source familiar with Microsoft's plans have revealed that Windows 8 has reached build 8500.

The information comes from canouna, who says "It's legit, current builds from win8_rtm folder" in a reply from a user which is asking about the screenshot above. This means that Windows 8 has reached build 8500, and that RTM is getting closer.

It is currently unclear when or what build number the company will finalize Windows 8 at, we think Windows 8 will be completed by or on 8600, which would make 1000 builds more from Windows 7 RTM. What do you think?

Remember, take this rumour with some salt as it could be false.

1998 to 2012 © WinBeta

Beta Centered, Technology and Microsoft news Focused. All news images and trademarks displayed are property of their respective owners.

View the original article here

Microsoft talks about the Windows 8 RTM milestone and its relationship to Metro apps

WinBeta is one of the original beta-centered communities founded in 1998. WinBeta is centered on Windows Beta news but is also Technology focused.

Dont lurk! There are tons of great reasons to register on WinBeta including the ability to enter giveaways and remove some advertisements. Its free and easy!

Home › Microsoft talks about the Windows 8 RTM milestone and its relationship to Metro apps

by Ron on July 03, 2012 - 09:55am

In a new official Microsoft blog post, Microsoft discusses the next major milestone for Windows 8, release to manufacturing (RTM) and how it impacts the development and availability of Metro style apps. Microsoft expects the final versions of all Metro style apps to be available when Windows 8 becomes generally available.

"When Developers get the RTM version, they will continue enhancing the features, capabilities and performance of their apps. Some of the apps you’ve already seen will look and perform differently when you download the final released version. There are also many more apps in development that haven’t been released to the Store yet. Many of those developers are waiting for RTM to put the finishing touches on their apps," Microsoft explains.

According to Microsoft, the release of Windows 8 will be a great milestone for app developers and it will only be the beginning. When the code reaches RTM, the platform is complete for general availability and there will not be any interim updates for developers. Head over to the source link for a comparison of what has changed so far since the Consumer Preview.

1998 to 2012 © WinBeta

Beta Centered, Technology and Microsoft news Focused. All news images and trademarks displayed are property of their respective owners.

View the original article here

Microsoft Office 2010 becomes first desktop app to be listed in the Windows Store

WinBeta is one of the original beta-centered communities founded in 1998. WinBeta is centered on Windows Beta news but is also Technology focused.

Dont lurk! There are tons of great reasons to register on WinBeta including the ability to enter giveaways and remove some advertisements. Its free and easy!

Home › Microsoft Office 2010 becomes first desktop app to be listed in the Windows Store

by Sarvesh on June 06, 2012 - 07:19pm

Microsoft has recently stated that it was going to add desktop apps to the Windows Store of Windows 8 Release Preview. And guess what? Microsoft's own software, Office 2010, has become the first desktop app to be added into the Windows Store.

These listings are merely a link to the developer's website and nothing else. Microsoft is not even providing basic information such as app size details, ratings, or reviews. Also, Microsoft has made some strict rules for certifying desktop apps to the Windows Store. For example, Microsoft is allowing developers to put up only two links (32 bit and 64 bit) and these links must redirect directly to the purchase page and nowhere else. You can check out the Office 2010 app in the Productivity section of the Windows Store. If for some reason you cannot find it in the Windows Store, simply open the Search Charm and search for "Office."

1998 to 2012 © WinBeta

Beta Centered, Technology and Microsoft news Focused. All news images and trademarks displayed are property of their respective owners.

View the original article here

Microsoft aims to make Windows 8 a rich and extensible media platform

WinBeta is one of the original beta-centered communities founded in 1998. WinBeta is centered on Windows Beta news but is also Technology focused.

Dont lurk! There are tons of great reasons to register on WinBeta including the ability to enter giveaways and remove some advertisements. Its free and easy!

In a new Building Windows 8 blog post, Microsoft explain how they have been working on building a rich and extensible media platform for Windows 8. This includes making playback faster and making it easier for users to share content over many devices with ease.

Microsoft is making media playback in Windows 8 an easier experience for users by minimizing CPU usage when playing content. CPU usage in Windows 8 has been cut down by almost half when playing a video in Windows 8 than in Windows 7, this is due to the new Metro video player that only uses a small amount of CPU, making your system faster on the go.

"The Windows 8 media platform is designed to deliver a fluid and responsive media experience with great battery life. We’ve engineered Windows to give you a great user experience across a broad set of scenarios, including voice communication, audio and video playback, and streaming content."

Windows 8 will make it easier for you to share media across devices with the charm "Devices", this charm allows you to share music or video content from the web or apps to other devices such as a TV or wireless speaker.

1998 to 2012 © WinBeta

Beta Centered, Technology and Microsoft news Focused. All news images and trademarks displayed are property of their respective owners.